Noise and Kisses
by mugglematic
Summary: One night leads to a girl's worst nightmare, a friend who is torn from both ends with no real story, and a boy who can't do anything to help. Who ever knew their 7th year at Hogwarts would be so difficult? WARN!NG: nonconsentual sex !Updated 2.26.06!
1. I Hate Your Eyes

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, we do not own Harry Potter…just the plot of this story! (Note: The title and all of the chapter titles are named after songs. We do not own any of them either.)

Chapter One: I Hate Your Eyes

-- -- --

Hermione checked her watch; 8:45, she had to leave any minute. She checked herself in the mirror once more. She knew she looked great, but she couldn't help thinking it was a little too seductive. She was wearing a long, tight red dress with spaghetti straps; her hair was in long, perfect waves; and her makeup was simple, except for her red lipstick. She went to her bed and sat down. She put on her black laced heels and stood up; very uncomfortable, very hard to walk in. She grabbed her black purse and headed out.

She made her way down to the Room of Requirement anxiously. She knew that tonight would probably be _the night_. She had been thinking about it for awhile. She bit her lip as she reached the room and took a deep breath. She knocked.

The door opened and Ron stood with a goofy grin on his face. He was wearing slacks and a light blue button-up shirt.

He kissed her, "Happy Anniversary, 'Mione!"

The room was lit up with candles and there was soft violin music playing in the background. There was a table set for two and there were red, silk curtains hanging from the windows. She wrapped her arms around his waist, "Ron, this is perfect! Thank you," she glanced over to the table and saw a bottle of Fire Whisky, already half gone, "H-have you been drinking?" she whispered.

He looked over to the half-empty bottle of alcohol, "Only a little- to calm me down. I was a bit nervous."

She nodded, not very happy, but as long as he wasn't completely wasted, why worry?

He pulled a chair out for her and then sat himself down across the table, "One year…can you believe it?"

She smiled sweetly and shrugged.

A house elf appeared and filled Hermione's glass with sparkling cider. He then went over to Ron and poured him a glass of the whisky. He finished it off it less than a minute. Hermione bit her lip; why was he doing this?

Ron glanced towards Hermione, "'Mione, can I ask you something?"

She took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, Ron?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment that he had found in one of her books.

"What is this?" he asked shakily.

On the crumpled parchment there was a clutter of little hearts, and different writings on it;_ Hermione Malfoy_, _I Love Draco_, _Mrs. Malfoy_.

Hermione gasped inwardly. She couldn't believe that Ron had found that.

"R-Ron," she tried, "that was a joke…you can't p-possibly think-"

"What about you _staring _at him in Potions, and _gawking_ at him in the corridors?" He stood up and hovered over her, "'Mione, you're supposed to love _me_, not that stupid git! What's going on?" his expression was filled with pure anger and hurt.

She giggled nervously, "Ron, you're mad…"

"I know there's something going on, Hermione! Tell me! Tell me what's going on!"

She looked at him disappointedly, "You're drunk, Ron," just as she stood up to leave, Ron grabbed her shoulders and threw her against the wall.

"How could you, you slut? How could you?"

"Ron!" she yelled, "Stop! What are doing?"

Ron pressed his body against hers and kissed her, "Does he kiss you like I do?"

Hermione jerked her head from side to side, avoiding his kiss, "Ron…please…stop…don't do this!" she choked.

Ron kissed her aggressively and, taking her wrists into his hands, pinned her against the wall. He ripped her dress open and kissed her neck.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly, tears running down her cheeks. She tried to push him off but he was too strong, "Ron, I love you! Please, don't do this!"

"I hate you!" he growled, "You made me believe that you loved me!"

Hermione squirmed, "I _do_ love you Ron, I _do_!"

"No! You're in love with that _scum_, Malfoy," he said maliciously, pulling her knickers down.

Hermione started sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

Ron ran his clammy hand up her abdomen and towards her chest. He reached around her back and unclasped her black bra.

As the lacey garment fell to the floor, he trailed kisses down her neck and to her breasts.

With a sudden jolt, he lifted her up and pushed her to the floor, throwing himself on top of her. Ron started to unbutton his pants while Hermione lay helplessly underneath him.

With pleading as her last hope, Hermione frantically said, "Think about what you're doing, Ron! Please, don't do this to us! Please, I-"

Ron grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the floor, "Shut up, whore!" he yelled, shoving his throbbing cock into her tight hole.

Hermione winced in pain as Ron forced himself inside of her.

He began to sweat and his face turned bright red. He moaned as he slid himself in and out of her, harder and deeper with every thrust.

Hermione's throat closed up and she was gasping for breath. She attempted to scream, but she couldn't, "Ron," she choked, "Please, stop!"

Ron ignored her pleading and continued driving himself into her. With one final shove, he came inside of her and collapsed onto her chest.


	2. Faint of Heart

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Chapter 2: Faint of Heart

-- -- --

Blurred vision came into view as her eyes fluttered open wildly. Hermione turned her head to find Ron snoring loudly next to her as the events from last night came rushing into her head. She stood up dizzily, holding onto a nearby chair to steady her balance. She walked over to the window and pulled down one of the red curtains, wrapping it tightly around her shoulders, and walked over to the door. She opened it a crack and looked up and down the corridor; it was empty. Relieved, she tiptoed quickly back down to the Gryffindor common room. She muttered the password and hurried up to the dorm room. Walking into the bathroom, she locked the door behind her. She let the curtain fall to her ankles as she looked at herself in the mirror. She fell to the hard, cold floor and let herself cry.

After her shower, she tentatively walked into the dorm room, to find everyone had already left for their classes. She curled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

-- -- --

"Hermione! Hermione, wake up!"

Hermione opened her eyes to see Harry standing over her. She pushed herself up and smiled weakly at him, "Morning."

"Hermione, do you know what time it is? Its seven o'clock; you've missed all of your classes today! I was looking all over for you…I was worried. What's happened?"

Hermione hesitated, "Oh, I'm fine. I wasn't feeling too well and I guess I overslept," she lied.

Harry's eyes narrowed, "That's not like you, Hermione. Tell me what's really bothering you."

"Nothing!" she snapped a bit too harshly, "I-I'm fine, really."

Harry sighed and shrugged his shoulders; whatever it was, he knew that Hermione wasn't going to tell him.

"Come down to the Great Hall with me. Ron's there; we can get some supper."

She bit her lip fighting to choke down the bile that was rising in her throat, "I'm actually not that hungry."

"Um…O-okay, I'll see you later then."

"Bye, Harry," she muttered. She pulled the covers over herself again and fell right to sleep.

-- -- --

The next morning Hermione woke up. It was late. She had already missed Charms and Advanced Arithmancy. She changed into her robes and moped down to Herbology, dragging her feet and walking slowly.

She walked into the class room and sat as far away from Ron as possible. She put her head on the table and ignored what was being taught.

"Ms. Granger!" Professor Sprout sounded surprised, "This is a first."

She lifted her head up, "Huh? Oh- right. Sorry," she mumbled putting her head back down.

People seemed shocked. Ron bit his lip and looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet.

She didn't go to her next class. She walked to the frozen lake and took another nap. When the bell rang, she got up and headed for lunch, where she sat next to Ginny, not speaking to anyone or eating anything. There were still five periods to go. She skipped them and went to the common room. She sat by the fire, staring out the window at the snow that had begun to fall. After classes were done, people began coming up into the common room to get ready for dinner. The talking and laughing amongst the students died as they passed Hermione. Whispers and rumors were heard; she didn't care. All she wanted to do was stay as far away from Ron as possible and sleep the pain away.

-- -- --

The next day, Hermione skipped her first four classes. On her way down to lunch, she bumped into Draco Malfoy.

"Watch where you're going, Granger!"

"You bumped into me, Malfoy!"

He smirked, "Moody today, aren't we?"

She glared at him, "Shut it, Malfoy."

He glared back at her, "So, I heard some noise coming from the broom closet last night; you and The Weasel, I presume?" he walked in a circle around her, "I wouldn't doubt it. I heard you were…" he paused for effect, "_Easy_."

He smirked. He knew that Hermione was a prude and would take offense to that.

Hermione came to a sudden realization; Ron wouldn't have done that to her if he hadn't thought that she was easy. Granted, he was drunk, but still. Did Ron think that she was easy? Was that the only reason he arranged that dinner? Was that the only reason he _dated_ her? She turned and stormed back to the common room, leaving a smug Draco staring after her.


	3. She Will Be Loved

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Chapter 3: She Will Be Loved

-- -- --

The weekend had gone by and Hermione hadn't even gotten out of her bed to shower. She'd spent countless hours at night going over what Draco had said to her. She felt like she had lost complete control over her life. If she couldn't stop the one she loved from raping her, how could she control anything? Maybe it was out of her hands. Maybe her only option was to become what Ron saw her as; a whore.

-- -- --

Hermione walked down to Potions the next day; she was over ten minutes late. She had been busy working on her hair and makeup. She approached the dungeon door and shook her hair back.

She strolled in casually.

"Well, Ms. Granger. How nice of you to finally join us. I was just finishing pairing people up. Seeing as Mr. Weasley isn't gracing us with his presence, why don't you go sit next to…Longbottom for the day," Professor Snape smirked.

Neville let out a small squeak. Everyone knew that he had the _biggest_ thing for Hermione. Everyone sniggered.

She nodded and sat herself next to him, "Hey, Neville," she smiled. As they waited for instructions, she sighed, "It's hot in here, no?" she took off her robes revealing a white blouse. She unbuttoned the first two buttons, "I hope this isn't too distracting, Neville."

Neville stared at her chest, mesmerized, "N-no," he squeaked.

At the end of class Hermione kissed Neville on the cheek, "Bye, Neville. See you later," she flirted before walking out of the class room, swinging her hips.

-- -- --

Hermione sat next to Seamus Finnegan during her Charms class. At the end of the period, after flirting with him the entire time, Hermione turned to him, "Hey, Seamus, I was wondering…Do you want to maybe…skip lunch and go up to the common room? We would be alone and we could do _whatever we want_," she smiled seductively.

Seamus was so mesmerized that he had completely forgotten that this was his good friend's girlfriend. He gulped and nodded. Hermione took his hand and led him up to the common room. She threw him down on the couch and sat on top of him, straddling him. She kissed him passionately, running her hands through his shaggy hair.

Seamus kissed her back and unbuttoned her blouse. He slid her skirt up and pulled her knickers down. He unbuttoned his trousers and turned her around so he was on top of her. He slid himself inside of her.

-- -- --

Hermione woke him up; he had fallen asleep on top of her after they finished, "Get up, Seamus! We have class," she stood up and buttoned her blouse. Straightening out her clothes and hair, she smiled at him and walked out of the common room.

-- -- --

It felt good; for twenty minutes, she felt loved. She was lost and then she was found. Then it was over; she felt lost again, helpless, unloved.

She decided to skip dinner again. She was walking up to the common room when she ran into Marcus Flint, "Hey, Flint," she whispered seductively, "I have a proposition for you. What are you up to for the next twenty minutes?"

Marcus was not exactly the brightest student. It took him at least two minutes to fully understand what Hermione was talking about. When he finally figured it out, he nodded and smirked. Hermione took him to an abandoned classroom in the dungeons, and twenty minutes later she sent him on his way.

After she was satisfied, she went up to the girl's dorms and passed out on her bed.

-- -- --

Two weeks had passed and Hermione had already slept with Seamus Finnegan, Marcus Flint, **Justin Finch-Fletchley, Adrian Pucey, Dean Thomas, Blaise Zambini and Terry Boot. By then, there were numerous murmurs going around the school saying that Hermione was a slut and that she _was_ easy. She didn't care. The more people that knew, the more people that wanted to have a go with her.**

**Hermione walked down to the court yard. Maybe she could find someone there. As she made her way down the steps she saw Ron coming towards her. As soon as she saw his face, mental images of that night filled her head. She took a deep breathe and sped up, hoping to pass him quickly. As she attempted to rush by him she felt a hand on her wrist.**

**She turned to face Ron.**

He took a deep breath, "'Mione, I…I'm so sorry. I was drunk, I wasn't thinking clearly!"

"So that makes it _okay_?"

"Hermione, please…Please, just give me another chance!"

"No," Hermione shook her head, tears brimming from her eyes.

She turned to leave.

"Hermione, stop! Please, just listen!"

She turned to him, "That's funny…you expect me to listen when _you_ say, 'stop' and 'please', but when _I_ say it, you completely ignore me!"

He grabbed her wrist again tightly, aggressively, "Oh, c'mon, Hermione! Stop acting so dramatic. You wanted it, you know you did!"

Draco, Crabbe and Goyle had been walking towards the courtyard. They stopped and stepped out of view to watch what was going on.

Hermione struggled to pull her arm out of Ron's grip, but it was no use, "No, I didn't! Now get- _off of me_!"

Ron tightened his grip and Hermione let out a painful cry. His voice grew angrier and deeper, "I apologized, Hermione! What more do you want from me?"

She continued to try to get free from Ron, "I want you to leave me alone!"

He glared at her, "You told me you loved me."

"Not anymore!" she cried, "Not after what you did! Now let go!"

Ron's face turned red with anger. He swung her by the wrist, banging her into the marble banister. He pushed her and she tumbled down the stairs.

Grunting, he walked away.

Crabbe and Goyle smirked while Draco stared, shocked at what he was seeing.

Hermione got up, trembling. Tears continued to spill from her eyes. She ran back up the stairs to the common room. She locked herself in the bathroom, replaying the night over and over in her head. She reached into the shower to find a razor. She held it to her skin. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes and slit it down her wrists; once, twice, then three times. She picked up a towel to stop the bleeding. It felt good. Better even, than the meaningless sex.

She slid it along her wrist once more. She was suddenly dizzy, and everything was blurred and spinning. Her head felt like it was going to float away. She squinted her eyes and tried to steady herself. Then she fell to the floor and blacked out.


	4. Reckless Abandon

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Chapter 4: Reckless Abandon

-- -- --

Hermione found herself slowly waking up. She tried to open her eyes but she couldn't. She heard voices, people yelling around her.

"Get her up!"

"Put her over here!"

"What happened?"

"Calm down!"

"Bring her down the Hospital Wing!"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Calm down, Harry!"

Hermione opened her eyes slowly, "Harry?" she moaned weakly.

Harry turned around quickly and ran to her. He collapsed by her side, "Hermione! Are you okay? What happened?" he asked frantically.

She looked around at the teachers who had stopped what they were doing to watch her, "I-I'm fine," she pulled herself up, regaining her strength, "I'm fine."

She walked passed the nurse and headed down to the Great Hall, Harry following quickly behind her.

"Hermione…Hermione!" Harry shouted after her.

Hermione abruptly stopped and spun around, "What?" she snapped.

Harry glided over to her, gently grabbing her hand, "'Mione-"

She jumped, "Don't touch me!" she pulled away fearfully.

"Hermione," he hesitated, "There _is_ something wrong isn't there?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "What are you talking about, Harry?" she turned away from him.

"I'm not stupid, Hermione. There _is_ something going on. You're acting so strange!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said softly, turning her head in the other direction.

"You're skipping classes, not eating, cutting yourself, and you've- you've turned into some sort of," he took a deep breath, "Whore."

She turned quickly to glare at him, "How dare you!" she lifted her hand up and slapped him across his face, leaving a large red mark.

Hermione turned away and stormed off to the Great Hall. She pushed the large doors open and everyone fell silent, turning their heads in her direction. Hermione slowly approached the Gryffindor table as she heard quiet murmurs all throughout the hall.

Reaching the table, she sat as far away from the other Gryffindors as possible. She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on it; it was the first thing that she had eaten in a week.

-- -- --

The Great Hall had regained some of the commotion back as Hermione got up to leave. On her way out, she heard Pansy Parkinson talking about a party in the Slytherin common room later that evening.

Hermione debated whether or not she should go. On one hand, she doubted the Slytherins would let her in but on the other, she really wanted to go to get her mind off of things.

As she was running things over in her head, she walked right into Malfoy again, "Sorry," she muttered and kept going.

"Watch it, Granger!"

She turned to see Malfoy. Her heart skipped a beat. She bit her lip. The last time she felt that was when Ron had kissed her when she arrived at the Room of Requirement.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry, Malfoy."

He narrowed his eyes, "Sorry?"

She opened her mouth to defend herself but, finding that she was speechless, she closed it again.

"What's going on with you and The Weasel?"

She shrugged, "Nothing…everything's fine."

He nodded; he knew she was lying, "See you later, Granger."

Hermione ran back to her dormitory to start getting ready for the Slytherin party; she was going.

-- -- --

Hermione walked into the Slytherin common room wearing a tight jean mini-skirt. She also had on a hot green tube top. Her hair was long and pin straight, and she was wearing heaps of green eye shadow. As soon as she walked in, someone walked by with a tray of jello shots. She took two off the tray and forced them down her throat. It burned. She had never had alcohol before. She went over to Marcus Flint, a friendly face…sort of.

She smiled and kissed his neck, "Hey, you," she sat down next to him and he threw her a beer. She took it and chugged it.

As the night progressed, Hermione must have had nine jello shots, two glasses of Fire Whisky and three beers. She stood up on the coffee table and was dancing. She was laughing hysterically and she fell off the table into Crabbe's lap and he pushed her off of him.

Draco had finally come down from the dorm room to the wild party. He grabbed a beer and two shot glasses and chased the shots with the beer. After he finished, he sat next to Crabbe and Goyle.

Hermione stood up from the floor to find Malfoy. She toppled over to him, "Hey, Malfoy!" she shouted flirtatiously. She squeezed herself onto the couch in between Goyle and Malfoy. She slowly began to caress Draco's arm, "You're looking sexy tonight…as usual," she whispered seductively into his ear.

"You're drunk, Granger," he said pushing her off of him as Goyle rose from the couch.

"Oh c'mon…you're Draco Malfoy! Don't you usually jump at any opportunity to shag drunken sluts?"

He rolled his eyes, "Not this time."

She flipped her hair, "I'm easy, remember? You said so yourself!"

"You're just smashed."

"Nope! I'm easy. Everyone thinks so. You think so, Harry thinks so, hell, the whole school thinks so…not to mention Ron."

Malfoy shook his head. "You're talking crazy, Granger-"

Hermione continued, ignoring Malfoy, "I guess I deserved it. I mean, I was planning on doing it that night. I thought about it over and over. I just never thought it was going to turn out that way."

Malfoy was getting annoyed, "What are you talking about-?"

"I was wearing this skanky red dress and half the Fire Whisky was gone. He pulled out that parchment where I wrote your name all over it and he got jealous!" she blurted out, laughing.

Draco started at her, shocked, "You wrote my name all over a piece of parchment? Why would you-"

Hermione continued again, "And then…" she paused and took another sip of beer, "He raped me."

Draco snapped his head towards her. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened, "What!" he shook his head, realizing what he was doing, "N-Never thought Weasley would have it in him," he forced a smirk.

"Whatever," Hermione said as she accidentally dropped her beer. She squealed and scrambled to the floor to pick it up. As she quickly stood up, she lost her balance and fell onto Draco's lap. She laughed a bit and looked up at Draco's face, "Wow," she said softly, "You have really pretty eyes," she smiled and then passed out on his chest.

Draco looked around frantically, not knowing what to do. Since no one seemed to notice what had happened, he stood up carrying her in his arms and headed for the portrait hole.

"Be careful with that one," Marcus called out to Draco just before he left, "She can get frisky!"

Draco forced a laugh, "Alright, thanks for the warning!" he called back.

Still carrying Hermione in his arms, Draco searched the school for the Gryffindor common room. He finally spotted some first year Gryffindors and he followed them throughout the corridors. When they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, Draco listened closely for the password. He waited a few minutes as to avoid any unnecessary contact after the drop-off of the passed out Hermione.

Draco cautiously approached the portrait hole, as it suddenly swung open and none other then Harry Potter stepped out.

"Malfoy," he stated coldly, "What are you- Oh my god, Hermione! Malfoy, what did you did you do to her?" Harry shouted, scooping Hermione up into his arms.

"I helped her Potter," he stated somewhat defensively.

"Yeah, I'm sure. _You_, helped Hermione Granger," he rolled his eyes and turned his back on him, "You probably drugged her," he mumbled.

"I don't need drugs to get girls to shag me Potter."

Harry glared at him as he entered the portrait hole, taking Hermione up to her room.


	5. Fury

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Chapter 5: Fury

-- -- --

Hermione opened her eyes slowly, her head was pounding and her vision was slightly blurred. She looked around and saw Harry sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Harry," she murmured, trying to prop herself up but falling down again.

Harry turned to her, "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Hermione hesitated, "I- I went to the Slytherin common room…and I started drinking. That's…that's all I remember."

"Draco Malfoy brought you by last night," he paused, "You had sex with him, didn't you?"

"Harry, no! I mean…I don't think so."

"I hope he paid you well. You wouldn't want to be giving sex away for free. At the rate your going you could be making a fortune," Harry said, turning to leave.

"At least I have people that care about me!" Hermione snapped.

He whipped around, turning towards her again, "_Care about you?_ The guys you're sleeping with are just looking for an easy shag. They don't care about you. They care about satisfying_ their_ needs, no matter whom with," Harry shouted, walking out and slamming the door behind him.

Hermione threw her head onto her pillow. She had lost her boyfriend, her best friend and her virginity in less than a month.

She couldn't have slept with Draco. She would have known; wouldn't she?

She forced herself up, feeling dizzy. It seemed as if the room was spinning. She glanced at the mirror; she looked terrible. She wiped the mascara from under her eyes, threw her hair up in a high ponytail, and put on a dab of lip-gloss. She walked out of the room, her head still pounding. It was one o'clock in the afternoon; they were almost done serving lunch.

She made her way down to the Great Hall. On her way, she spotted Draco. She slowed her walking, wishing he was alone so she could talk to him. Luckily enough, Draco waved goodbye to Flint, Crabbe and Goyle and started towards the Great Hall alone.

Hermione took a deep breath, "Dra- Malfoy."

He turned to look at her and then quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching, "What do you want, Granger?"

"Er…Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Draco looked around once more and saw a few first year Slytherins coming. He nodded and took Hermione by the arm gently. He pulled her underneath the staircase so no one would see them.

"Yeah?"

Hermione stared at him; he was hidden by the shadows and she could only make out his outline.

"What happened last night?" she asked apprehensively, "Harry told me you carried me back to the common room. We didn't…_do_ anything, did we?"

"Of course not, Granger! I would neverdo that to- _with_ you," he said malevolently.

She nodded, "But, why did you bring me back to the common room?"

"You fell and passed out on my lap. Pansy told me to get you out. I was going to leave you out in the hallway but," he hesitated, "but I figured someone would find out about our party. So, I just brought you back to your common room instead."

She smiled weakly, "Thank you."

He shrugged, "Well, it was better with you gone. You kept babbling on and on about-" he stopped, and swore under his breath.

She leaned in, "About what?" Her face was so close to his she could feel his breath against her skin. She pursed her lips a bit; part of her just wanted to grab him and kiss him.

Draco hesitated as he sensed Hermione's face was close to his. He pulled away quickly, "N-nothing…just school things."

She nodded again, not entirely sure that he was telling the truth.

"Oh…O-okay. Thanks, Draco…Er…Malfoy."

"Yeah," he stepped out from under the staircase and looked around. He saw it was clear and he took off at a fast pace.

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment and then walked down towards the Great Hall. There was barely any noise from the Slytherin table and almost all of them were holding their heads in pain. Hermione sat down at the far end of the Gryffindor table, hoping to avoid contact with both Harry and Ron.

She put her head down and accidentally knocked over her glass of pumpkin juice.

"Hey!" Ron jumped up out of his seat, pumpkin juice running down off of the table onto his lap, "What do you think you're-"

Hermione had lifted her head up to look at him.

"Oh, it's you…Good job you bloody slut!" Ron shouted, wiping his pants frantically.

She stood up and stared at him, "What did you just say?"

He cleared his throat and looked nervously at her. He turned around to look at Harry.

Harry just stared, shocked at what he was seeing, "Ron, what's going on?" he muttered under his breath.

By now, everyone's attention was focused on the Gryffindor table.

Hermione pushed Ron from the back and he stumbled over a bit, "Yeah, Ron! Why don't you tell him what's wrong! Tell him what you did to me on our-"

"That's quite enough, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall's hand rested on Hermione's shoulder, "Now, if you are finished eating, will you please get your things and go back to your dormitory?"

Hermione continued to stare at Ron, her eyes burning with fury. She nodded slowly and then stormed out of the Great Hall.


	6. Underneath It All

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Chapter 6: Underneath It All

-- -- --

Hermione stopped outside the doors of the Great Hall. She was furious. How dare he? She took a deep breath and then continued towards the common room. She had only been walking for a minute before she heard footsteps behind her. She spun around to see Draco Malfoy running up to her.

"Not the best time for insults, Malfoy," she turned and continued walking.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath, "Granger, wait…I just- What _was_ that?"

She turned around again to face him, "Right, like _you_ care."

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again.

She shook her head, "It's none of your business."

He stared at her. He didn't know what to say, "But…I-"

"Just drop it, okay? You don't need to know."

"I…I already do," he spoke in barely a whisper. He bit his lip. He had no idea what possessed him to say it.

Her eyes widened, "What?"

He took a deep breath, "You…you told me last night, w-when you were drunk."

Her mouth was wide open. She didn't know what to say. Her eyes filled with tears, "How much did you-?"

"Everything…I'm so sorry, Hermione."

She shook her head, "N-no one else knows, right?"

"I didn't tell anyone, no."

Her eyes fluttered wildly. She could hardly breathe, "Draco…I…I don't..."

He nodded and stepped closer to her, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck. He stood there, rubbing her back, while Hermione cried on his shoulder. He pulled away slightly, while still holding onto her, and looked into her glassy eyes. He pulled her towards him and gently brushed his lips against hers, moving one hand onto her cheek.

Hermione stood, trapped in the moment. She had kissed countless numbers of boys since that night with Ron, but this was different. She was quite sure that she had never had this feeling before; not even with Ron.

Hermione suddenly realized what she was doing and pulled away quickly, looking around, "No…Malfoy…I- _we_ can't."

He grabbed her arm, "Hermione-"

She pulled her arm away from him, "No. It's wrong. I…Y-you're- a Malfoy!"

She turned away from him and bit her lip. She had wanted this since first year. She had played this exact moment in her head hundreds of times before. Why did it feel so wrong yet so right at the same time?

Draco hesitated, he knew she was right. What was he thinking? It could never work. But it felt so perfect; so meant-to-be.

Hermione took a few steps away from Draco as a crowd of people walked by. She made sure they were all gone before turning around and walking back over to him.

"Hermione, we don't have to-"

She cut him off, "I know that. I just can't…and I think it would be better, _for the both of us_, if we just- just pretend that that never happened."

He nodded. Again, she was right. She took a step back, "Draco…I'm sorry," she turned around and hurried off at a fast pace. She wiped away the tears that endlessly spilt from her eyes.

Draco stood, rooted in his place; he stared at her as she walked away from him. He bit the inside of his cheek, "So am I…so am I," he said in a whisper.

-- -- --

Hermione arrived at potions the next afternoon, on time. Her skirt was rolled back to its proper length, her blouse fully buttoned and her robes tightly fastened. She sat down by herself at an empty table in the corner and waited for class to begin. Ron and Harry both walked in together and took a seat at the farthest table from Hermione. She skimmed the classroom and she spotted Draco at the front. She stared at him and he suddenly turned around to look at her. Their eyes met and they held their gaze for a few seconds before Hermione quickly turned her head away. At that moment, Professor Snape walked into the classroom.

Snape stood at the front of the class and cleared his throat, "Today we will be mixing a complex and powerful potion, Benzoate. This potion causes the drinker to act upon anything that is commanded of them. It is a similar form of the Imperious curse. The ingredients are written on the board, if you would please seat yourself next to your assigned partners."

Hermione shot a look towards Ron. She raised her hand slowly, "Er…Professor, didn't you say we would be switching partners after the first term?" she looked hopefully up at Professor Snape.

Snape walked up to Hermione's table, "I don't remember asking you for tips on how to do my job, Ms. Granger. Five points from Gryffindor," he turned back to the class, "Sit with your partners. One of you get the ingredients from the cabinet, and the other one get the supplies. Make sure you all have gloves on while mixing your potions. When Benzoate comes into contact with your skin, the results can be extremely harmful. You have forty minutes. Begin."

Hermione looked grudgingly at Ron. She pushed out her chair and picked up her books. She made her way to Ron's table slowly and sat down. Ron had already gotten the supplies. She put her gloves on and began to mix the potion. Every once in awhile, Hermione would pick her head up to look at Malfoy, he seemed to be doing the same thing.

-- -- --

After about twenty minutes of silence between the two of them, Ron finally spoke, "So, tell me…how is life as a slut? Do you get paid or is it just a hobby?"

She ignored him and kept her eyes focused on the potion.

"I heard you've been shagging Slytherins too. What's that like?"

She continued to be silent.

"Oh, I know…who was better, me or _Malfoy_?"

She sharply turned her head to Ron, causing a slight pain in her neck. She ignored it, "Shut up!"

He chuckled to himself, glad that he had gotten a rise out of her. He continued on the potion when an idea suddenly struck him. He gazed at Hermione, sitting next to him. He smirked a bit and moved his hand to the small cauldron in front of him. With one swift movement of his hand, he knocked it over, spilling it on top of Hermione's lap.

She stood up quickly, turning the chair over on its side and knocking down all the other ingredients on the table, "OW, RON!" she screamed, trying to wipe off the potion that was burning her legs.

Draco turned around and stood up as abruptly as Hermione did. He walked quickly over to Ron who was laughing hysterically. He grabbed him by his collar and pushed him against the wall, "What the hell was-" he suddenly realized that everyone in the room was silent and all eyes were on him.

He let Ron go and turned around. He looked at Hermione; her eyes were so wide they appeared to be popping out of their sockets.

Snape looked up from his desk and glided over to the three of them, "What is going on over here?" his eyes fell on the steam that was omitting from Hermione's legs, "Mr. Longbottom, please escort Ms. Granger to the Hospital Wing immediately. Mr. Weasley, I would like to have a word with you after class. And Mr. Malfoy…go take your seat."

-- -- --

"C'mon, dear…drink. I know it tastes horrible, but it will make you feel so much better."

Hermione shut her eyes tightly and forced the thick, warm liquid down her throat. There was a knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey went quickly over to answer it. Soft voices were heard, although Hermione couldn't make them out. After quite sometime, Madam Pomfrey turned to Hermione, "You have a visitor."

Hermione looked over towards the door and saw Harry, his hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet over to her. She narrowed her eyes, "Oh."

He took a deep breath, "Hi," he said nervously, "H-how are you feeling?"

She turned her head in the opposite direction, "Oh, wonderful! Madam Pomfrey says I'll be able to walk again in no time!"

He nodded; he knew she was going to be acting this way, "Listen…Hermione…I-"

"I don't need your rubbish apology."

"'Mione, please, let me-"

"Don't you _dare_ call me that," she trailed off, "Ron used to call me that."

Harry paused, "That's it, isn't it? That's the reason you've gone and-"

"Don't start, Harry!"

"I wasn't going to…Look, Hermione, I understand-"

"How could you possibly? How could you _ever_ understand?"

"Hermione," he walked towards her and sat in the chair to the side of her hospital bed, "I don't want our relationship to end up like this. Please. _What happened_?"

She nervously strummed her fingers on the firm mattress and avoided his gaze. Choosing her words carefully she whispered, "We just- we just got into a fight and…Oh, Harry it was awful!" she started sobbing, "Ron he, he went mental and he called me a slut and we started arguing and going on about, about how he was jealous of other guys and their talking to me. Harry, it was terrible. And ever since…I- I just…haven't been the same…nothing has."

"How bad could the argument have been to make you, well, you know…"

"I just…I just never thought that he could do such a thing; be so _foul_," she said, attempting to gain her composure back.

"Well, I suppose I could understand...you loving him and all."

She winced at his words.

"Harry, I never meant for it-"

"I think that's quite enough for one night, Mr. Potter," Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room, "Ms. Granger needs her rest so we can have her back to classes as quickly as possible."

"Alright, see you later, Hermione. I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're feeling."

"Thanks, Harry…for everything," she leaned over and placed her arms around his torso.

"Go on, move along now, Mr. Potter," Madame Pomfrey interrupted.

"Bye, Harry," she said with a half smile.

-- -- --

"Morning, Sunshine."

Hermione's eyes fluttered open and lay upon none other than Draco Malfoy. Her tired smile immediately turned into a look of accusatory shock.

She shot up, "Did anyone see you? Draco-"

"Don't worry, Hermione, I won't be missed," he paused, "I told them I needed peace to sabotage the upcoming Quidditch match against Gryffindor," he smirked.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as he strode over to sit down on the side of her bed, "You really need to be more careful, Draco," she warned, "People are going to start suspecting-"

"Hermione-"

"Draco, you know I'm right! I don't want to hear anything more about it. We can't go on like this…we just…can't."

"But we _can_, Hermione," he leaned in closer to her and placed his hand on her forearm, "We _can_ make this work."

"Even if we could, you'd have to stop being so obvious about it. You need to learn to control your emotions, Draco. Otherwise, someone's bound to find out."

"I know…I know," he murmured, stroking her arm.

Just then Harry stopped dead in his tracks at the doorway of the Hospital Wing, staring at the scene in front of him. For a few seconds he debated whether or not he was imagining things, whether or not he should attempt to find out. Considering him and Hermione had just recently reconciled their friendship, he decided against it. Turning away from them both he quickly walked away from the infirmary and back up to the Gryffindor common room.


	7. Dirty Little Secret

Noise and Kisses

By Caiti and Court

Chapter 7: Dirty Little Secret

-- -- --

"Harry! Harry!"

Harry looked up from his cauldron, which was emitting a thick, putrid smoke.

"Wha- Oh, bloody hell!" he groaned, as Hermione attempted to recover his seemingly useless Polyjuice potion.

"You need to pay more attention to the time, Harry," she stated coolly, wafting the air, "You've been stirring your potion for nearly twenty minutes now when you were only supposed to for five!"

"Uh- yeah. Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, it's your grade," she paused, noticing the annoyed look on his face, "But- let's see if I can do something to fix it up for you, okay?" she added reassuringly, smiling slightly.

The two sat in near-silence for the rest of the class period. Snape had readily allowed for a lab partner change after the incident with Ron and the Benzoate potion almost a week earlier. Hermione was extremely grateful in accepting Harry as her new partner, although slightly uneasy, as Harry had been somewhat distant towards her since their visit in the Hospital Wing. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find out why, not now at least. For the first time in a long time, Harry was the closest thing, besides Draco, that she had to a friend and she wasn't ready to lose him.

When Potions was over, Harry quickly packed his bag and rushed out of the classroom before Hermione had even finished putting away the un-used ingredients. She sighed worriedly before glancing over at Draco, who was slowly making his way towards the dungeon door to leave. Hermione suddenly perked up and hurriedly but neatly packed away her things in her bag, before busying out of the classroom to catch up with Draco.

By the time she left, the dungeon corridors were crowded and there was no sign of Draco anywhere. She shrugged disappointedly and trudged up the corridor towards her next class. Before she even left the dungeon, however, she was pulled into a broom cupboard swiftly.

"Wha-," but she was silenced by a passionate kiss. She knew immediately who it was, "Draco," she breathed as they broke away, "I missed you."

"You saw me in Potions less than five minutes ago!"

"Yes, but I missed _you_," she flirted, pulling him into a tight hug and another kiss.

He willingly kissed her back, relieved that she was finally able to trust him completely. She held onto him tightly as he pulled her closer, further exploring her mouth with his tongue. Hermione felt comfortable with him, _safe_. He didn't kiss aggressively like she had imagined in the past. It was gentle; sweet.

They stayed that way for awhile before breaking away again. He wrapped his arms around her more tightly than before as she snuggled in close to his chest. Leaning his chin on her head, he stroked her hair while she listened to the combination of his shallow breathing and steady heartbeat in his chest.

"So, how did your potion turn out today? Brilliant, I assume," Draco asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Mhm…"

The beginning conversation was slightly strange as they had to do the entire _normal_ couple thing secretively in a broom closet. Nevertheless, Draco pressed on, "What's got Potter's bollocks in a twist?"

She pulled her head away slightly and shot him a disapproving look.

"Sorry…uh- what's been bothering," he paused, "_Harry_ lately?"

She laid her head back onto his chest and sighed, "I don't know. He's been acting so strange ever since he first visited me last week. I couldn't possibly have done something since then…nothing I know of at least."

"He's probably just got his mind on other things. You know; school, Quidditch, saving the world-"

"Yeah, but it's more than that," she ignored his snide remark, "I've known him long enough to know that it's more than that."

"Well, what else could it be?"

"No idea."

-- -- --

Over the next few days, Hermione was increasingly trying to pack up the courage to ask Harry why he had been so distracted and distant lately. It wasn't quite as easy as she had originally thought it would be. She'd already been through two Transfiguration classes, one Charms class and about four different meals in the Great Hall attempting to find out and still, nothing. As the days went by, it became harder and harder to talk to Harry as he was always miraculously busy with something else and unable to speak to Hermione. This annoyed her yet increased her concern because now she knew that it was something that she had done, and she still had no idea as to what it was.

It wasn't until later the next day, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, that she made some sort of progress.

"Harry, you have to enunciate!"

"Hermione, why do you have to be so bloody-"

"What- what exactly, Harry?"

"Nothing...nevermind," he noticeably sounded disgruntled.

Hermione took a deep breath, "Look, Harry, you've been avoiding me all week, and when you weren't doing that you were being a complete wanker! All I want to know, is why? What have I done to make you hate me so bloody much…again!" she didn't mean to blurt it out nor be so harsh but she was running low with patience and needed to know.

"Where exactly have you been all week, Hermione?" he asked disdainfully.

She just stared at him, unsure of what he was talking about.

Harry shook his head, "Forget it-"

"No! No, I will not! _Why, Harry?_"

"This is not the place," he said, as he turned to leave.

"Then when?"

"Not now."

She groaned as he walked away.

"Still trying to shag more blokes, Hermione? Thought you would've stopped with Terry Boot, but _Harry_? Who knew you'd sink so low as to shag my best friend?"

"Not now, Ron," she spat, feeling her stomach tighten.

He smirked, "Hmm, never knew those two words were in your vocabulary- not together at least!" A few Gryffindor males around him chuckled. They never really thought of Ron's behavior as odd because they had naturally assumed that he was just rightfully angry about Hermione shagging half the school.

"You're not worth my time," Hermione managed to choke out, fighting back her tears, "S-so stop trying!"

Ron hesitantly left her alone for the rest of the class, glad that he had gotten some sort of reaction out of her.

When the period was over, Hermione almost ran out of the room, praying that Draco was in a nearby broom closet.

-- -- --

"Hermione! Wha-what's wrong?" Draco asked as she practically collapsed into his arms.

"Ron," she whispered, "He-"

Draco suddenly stiffened, a look of pure hatred and anger on his face, "Where is he? Where did he go? I'll curse him!"

"Draco-"

"Hermione, he can't keep doing this! Look at you; you're near faint!"

"I'm fine…really," she looked up at him reassuringly, "He just- he just still gets to me that's all."

"What did he say this time?" he asked, his facial expression gentler.

"Same as every other time…remarks about me shagging half the school. But this time he mentioned Harry," she paused for a moment, "That's really what I need to talk to you about."

"Potter?"

"Yes, he said something to me- nothing bad!" she interjected as Draco's face immediately contorted into anger.

"Well, what exactly did he say?" Draco asked trying to remain calm.

"He asked me where I've been all week. When I had no idea as to what he was referring to, he went on about how it wasn't the right time to talk about it."

Draco took Hermione's hands into his and after a moment of silence he asked anxiously, "Do you think he might know about us?"

She shook her head, "He couldn't possibly!" she looked up into Draco's eyes, "Could he?"

"I don't know."

"But- but we've been so careful!" Hermione exclaimed frantically, still holding onto Draco's hands, "There's no way he could know unless he's been following me after hours, which I highly doubt. And after classes-"

"Is a possibility-"

"Yes, but he's never around after class. He's always running away and avoiding me, you know that!"

"How else could he know?"

"Well, we don't know that he does…"

"Let's not worry about it so much then, love," he said, leaning in and kissing her on the forehead, "Not until we know for certain."

Hermione nodded and leaned into Draco's chest, still holding onto one of his hands, while the other snaked around her lower back to pull her closer.

"Alright…until we know…"

-- -- --

Even after her talk with Draco, Hermione was still uneasy about Harry's knowledge of their relationship. She couldn't think of anything else that could have made him so angry. Although she didn't mention it anymore to Draco, she couldn't help but constantly think about whether or not Harry knew and how exactly he had figured it out. Maybe they weren't as careful as they'd thought.

Just as she arrived at Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures, Harry still on her mind, she walked right into her gangly ex-boyfriend.

"Just can't stay away from me, eh, Hermione?"

She ignored him and headed straight for Harry, who was standing a few feet away, hoping to find out more about his knowledge of her and Draco.

"Har-"

"Malfoy was right…you _are_ filthy," Ron called over to her, his voice dripping with malice.

With three strides and one swift stroke of her wrist, Hermione's hand connected with Ron's right cheek, a bright scarlet mark lingering on his face. Everyone froze; not because of the loud noise that had occurred from the slap, but because of the fact that that action had actually just taken place.

Ron was speechless. For the first time that year, he had absolutely nothing to say to Hermione. He just stood there as she turned away from him, smiling to herself.

When she looked up she saw Harry, a look of utter confusion on his face. They stared at each other for a moment before Harry breathed, "We need to talk."

Hermione nodded and with Hagrid's permission, followed Harry back up to the Gryffindor common room.


End file.
